ANC accepts Vincent Smith’s ‘stepping aside’ as committees chair

Ad hoc committee chairperson Vincent Smith addresses the National Assembly during a report on the fitness of SABC board to hold office on March 07, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. During the proceedings, Members of Parliament recommended that Communications Minister Faith Muthambi be investigated for violating the constitution.
Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Lulama Zenzile.

The political committee of the ANC’s parliamentary caucus has accepted a request by senior MP Vincent Smith to step aside as chairperson of three committees.

“Last week, comrade Smith requested the leadership of the ANC caucus to allow him to step aside from chairing any parliamentary committee until the investigation into allegations against him which have surfaced in the public domain have been concluded by the ethics committee,” the office of ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said.

“The political committee welcomed and agreed to grant comrade Smith permission to step aside from chairing any portfolio committee until the finalisation of this case. Having allowed him to step aside as chairperson, he will remain an ordinary member of all committees he is a member of.”

This follow a previous report by News24 that Smith received cash and benefits to the tune of R870 000 from Bosasa in 2015 and 2016 through Angelo Agrizzi, then chief operations officer at Bosasa.At the time, Smith was a former chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on correctional services that investigated Bosasa’s involvement in alleged corruption relating to state tenders.News24 reported that Smith allegedly accepted the installation of electric fences and a high-end CCTV system worth roughly R200 000 at his home, and allegedly also received R100 000 in cash from Bosasa chief executive officer Gavin Watson every month.

Interim chairs

The ANC announced several interim chairs for the committees.

Stanford Maila will be the acting co-chairperson of the constitutional review committee on land expropriation, while Madipoane Mothapo will be the acting chair of the justice and correctional services committee, and Nthabiseng Khunou the acting chair of the standing committee on the auditor-general.